What’s Buzzing in Burning Man HIVE, Our Online Co-learning Hub for Burners

Do you know about Burning Man Hive? It’s a veritable hub of activity, where Burners come together online to connect, share information, and learn from one another. Anyone can participate in Hive; just log in using your Burner Profile.

In March 2023, Hive achieved a huge milestone when the network reached, and quickly surpassed, 10,000 members. As the road to Black Rock City winds through the summer, there are almost 12,000 Burners in Hive, building connections, sharing tips and best practices, and bringing their learnings back into their local communities.

You may already be a member… and if not… and you wish to learn more, read on to learn about what’s new and buzzing in Hive this year! 

NEW NAVIGATION TOOLS

We love the new #hashtags feature, an easy way to guide more eyes to your content. By including hashtags in posts and articles, you can draw readers who are interested in several topics.

For example, an article featuring an art project by a woman of color attending her first Burn could use hashtags such as #BlackRockCity2023, #VirginBurner, #Art, and #RIDE. 

You can also use hashtags to find specific content. For example, #AskABurner and #BlackRockCity2023 are quite popular as our return to the Playa draws near! 

FIRST-TIME BURNER RESOURCES

We created the Ask A Burner feed to tap into the wisdom and experience of fellow Burners and share what you’ve learned! It’s a great place for Virgin Burners to crowdsource information about all aspects of Burning Man culture. Also check out these excellent resources for first-time Burners: 

  • Touching Down: A BRC Orientation, created by Terry ‘Retro’ Schoop, shares information about Black Rock City, directions for getting to Black Rock City, advice on what to bring, and more. 
  • Ray C. created The Virgin Burner Guide when he was a virgin Burner. He updates the guide with timely information specific to each event. 
“Bee Dance” by Andrea Greenlees, Andy Tdibbets & Josh Haywood, 2019 (Photo by Dan Adams)

RADICAL INCLUSION, DIVERSITY, & EQUITY

In 2021 Burning Man Project pledged “…to build a more educated and aware organizational culture, to create a framework for community engagement around this work, and to normalize a culture of an ever more inclusive and welcoming Black Rock City.”

We are also on a mission to incorporate more Radical, Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (R.I.D.E.) into Hive. Hive brings together individuals and different Burner communities around the world to engage with one another, learn from each other, connect and share knowledge on all things Burning Man. To learn how the Hive community incorporates Radical Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity in our network, please explore some of the following R.I.D.E. spaces.

The Burners of Color Resource Group is a space where Burners who identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC) can connect and support each other. The group’s goals include: connect to other BIPOC Burners, develop resources to support them, and create a safe space to discuss the challenges and success in their communities on and off playa.

Looking for R.I.D.E. Contacts/Leads for Black Rock City Participant groups? The Black Rock City R.I.D.E. Resource Group was recently created to connect R.I.D.E. contacts, liaisons and coordinators across Black Rock City’s registered projects to share experiences and resources, and to support each other through mutual learning. 

Also check out The Multicultural POC Neighborhood, a self-organizing community with a mission to “create a safe place for Burners of color to profoundly experience the cultures of the world across our diverse camps working to cultivate more members of the global majority to be represented within the Burning Man organization through leadership and community support of R.I.D.E..”

Additional R.I.D.E.-related resources, courses and groups are in the R.I.D.E. Collection.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Coming soon to Hive: dedicated collections for Black Rock City Art and the Regional Network, as well as Black Rock City theme camps, teams and departments. We are just getting started!

Since Hive’s inception in 2019, the goal has always been to provide the global Burning Man community with a focused opportunity to connect digitally, year-round and across the time zones and regions that may separate us. We have so much to share and to learn from each other. 

VOLUNTEER FOR THE SWARM!

As the Hive network grows, so does the need for team members! The Swarm is Hive’s Volunteer Team, made up of Burner bees who love buzzing around online. The Swarm could be the place for you if you… 

  • Love creating online content and want to help others create it
  • Have mad community engagement skills
  • Are good at helping people navigate technology and online spaces
  • Want to meet other Burners online

Interested? Check out this post for more details or fill out the Volunteer for Hive form and our VC Roxy Foxfire will contact you. 

If any of this sounds exciting to you, then the question is: 

What sweetness do YOU want to bring to Hive? 

Similar to Black Rock City, Hive comes to life thanks to the contributions and participation of the community.

Larry Harvey, Burning Man’s founder, likened participant-driven Black Rock City to a beehive: “We build the hive. They bring the honey.” This quote served as the inspiration for naming our education network.

Let us know your sweet idea for Hive by filling out this form

We can’t wait to see what you’ve got buzzing!


Cover image of  “Bee or Not to Bee” by Mr & Mrs Ferguson, 2019 (Photo by Gurpreet Chawla)

About the author: Burning Man Project Education Team

Burning Man Project Education Team

The mission of Burning Man Project’s Educational Program is to teach the philosophy, principles, and practice of Burning Man culture and experience around the world.

3 Comments on “What’s Buzzing in Burning Man HIVE, Our Online Co-learning Hub for Burners

  • Paul steffen says:

    Great idea and concept because if u get like-minded people together… greatness happens …right!!!

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  • Scout says:

    It’s a shame that when you mention RIDE and diversity initiatives, they rarely if ever mention any GLBTQ+ communities.

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    • KJ from BMP Education says:

      Hey Scout! Everything in Hive is created by the community and we love to highlight what people are throwing down. We would love to have more GLBTQ+ content in the network. Are you a GLBTQ+ Burner? If so, what would you like to see? Get in touch via the links in above, let’s collaborate!

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